(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) A string of violent and bloody incidents in recent days have set off the alarm bells that Israel might be evolving into a violent society and losing its moral compass.
In the last weekend, an ultra-orthodox Jew stormed a gay pride parade in Jerusalem, stabbing six participants, one of which died of her wounds days later.
Hours later, the home of a Palestinian family in a West Bank village was set on fire, killing a baby and critically injuring his parents and brother. It is believed Jewish extremists from an adjacent settlement carried out the attack.
The attacks share a common denominator - a staunch religious belief that serves as a justification for the violence.
Eli Amir, a prominent Israeli author and publicist, believes the assailants of both attacks and other such similar ones share an extremist belief that does not characterize the mainstream of the Jewish faith.
"They hate Arabs, they hate those who are different from them," Amir said, "and they are led by extremist rabbis who the politicians do not dare touch."
In a statement released after the attacks, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said that authorities had not done enough to combat years of violence.
Israeli police have called violence against Palestinians "Price Tag" attacks - taking the name from the perpetrators themselves. Often they would spray paint the words "price tag" on their targets - mosques, churches, cars and homes of Palestinians. The Jewish assailants claim Israeli authorities are lax toward Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israelis.
The Israeli right wing, which has been in power for recent years, has shown what can only be interpreted as deliberate weakness in combatting such violent extremism.
In November 2014, two brothers torched a bi-lingual Arab-Israeli school in Jerusalem. There were no casualties in the overnight attack. A few weeks ago they were sentenced to two years in prison and a small fine. As they walked out of court, they were quoted as saying the "price (of the attack) was worth it." Their conviction was for arson and vandalism, hence the lenient sentencing.
Had they been tried for a hate crime, local commentators say, the potential of the sentencing would have been much tougher.
According to Amir, the recent upsurge in violence is a result of the combination between a distorted religious belief and 48 years of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, which have led to 'greed' in certain parts of Israeli society.
The length of Israel's occupation of territories populated by Palestinians has blurred the lines of what is legal and what is not. In a recent attempt to circumvent Israeli law in the West Bank in order to allow further settlement construction, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked proposed a separate court for such issues, which would have special jurisdiction in the West Bank.
This move was criticized by many in and outside Israel. But essentially, it was an admission by parts of the Israeli right wing that the country currently does not fully exercise its sovereignty over the West Bank like it claims it has the legal right to.
The attacks have the potential to further deteriorate Israel's relations with the Palestinians.
However, both sides are to be held accountable for the stalemate between them.
But, will this current wave of violence and the subsequent public outcry push the Israeli government to take concrete measures versus seemingly hollow declarations?
"The events may serve as a wake-up call for the Israeli society. Everybody is profoundly shocked and this may be a catalyst," Amir said.
But as long as Israel's right wing government is in place, significant change can hardly be expected. For now, the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not taken concrete steps.
According to Amir, many of those who support the violent acts that have taken place are part of the constituents of the current government.
A leftist government will probably not be able to fully eradicate the acts of violence but perhaps more effective measures would be taken in an honest attempt to do so, he said.
It is clear that Israel's security establishment has the ability to combat such challenges but needs to be given the direct, explicit orders and legislative tools to do so.
The current climate, highlighted by recent racist statements made by Israeli ministers and public figures, serves as a fertile ground for violence towards minorities.
During Israel's last election day, when Netanyahu warned his supporters that Arab voters were "heading to the polls in droves," he was voicing the sentiment of many of his constituents.
The statement was seen as extremely offensive to Israel's democratic foundations which give minorities such as Israeli Arabs the right to vote.
His subsequent apology was not convincing with the top advisors to U.S. President Barack Obama even saying it would be difficult to strike those comments from public record.
Israel is at a crossroads whereby it must decide if it is delving further into extremism and violence or choosing a path which is more moderate and tolerant to minorities, observers here warn.
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